Stephen’s Address: The Call of Abraham

1THEN said the high-priest, Are these things so?

2He replied, Men, brethren, and fathers, hear me:The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Charran, 3and said to him, Go forth out of thy country, and from among thy relations, and come hither to a land which I will shew thee. 4Then he went out from the country of the Chaldeans, and, dwelt in Charran: and from thence, after his father was dead, God removed him as a sojourner into this very country, in which we now dwell. 5Yet he gave him no inheritance in it, not so much as the print of his foot: yet he promised to give it for a possession to him and to his seed after him, when he had no son. 6Then spake God to him thus, That his seed should sojourn in a foreign land: and that they should enslave it, and grievously afflict it, four hundred years. 7And the nation by which they shall be enslaved will I judge, said God: and after these things they shall come out, and shall worship me in this place. 8And he gave him the covenant of circumcision: and so he begat Isaac, and circumcised him on the eighth day; and Isaac Jacob, and Jacob the twelve patriarchs.

Joseph Sold into Egypt

9And the patriarchs, envious, sold Joseph into Egypt: yet God was with him, 10and delivered him out of all his afflictions, and gave him favour and wisdom before Pharaoh king of Egypt; and he appointed him governor over Egypt and all his house.

11Then came a famine upon all the land of Egypt and Canaan, and great distress: and our fathers found no provisions. 12But when Jacob heard that there were provisions in Egypt, he sent our fathers, the first time. 13And the second time Joseph was made known unto his brethren; and Joseph?s family was made known unto Pharaoh. 14Then sent Joseph, and invited his father Jacob to come to him, and all his kindred, consisting of seventy-five persons.

Israel Oppressed in Egypt

15So Jacob went down into Egypt, and died, himself, and our fathers, 16and they removed him to Sychem, and laid him in the sepulchre which Abraham had bought, at a price paid in silver, of the sons of Emmor, the father of Shechem.

17But as the time of the promise which God had with an oath confirmed unto Abraham drew nigh, the people increased and multiplied in Egypt, 18until another king arose, who knew not Joseph. 19This man, forming crafty designs against our nation, grievously treated our fathers, so as to cause them to expose their children, in order to exterminate the race.

The Birth and Adoption of Moses
(Hebrews 11:23–29)

20At which time Moses was born, and was endued with singular beauty from God, who was brought up three months in the house of his father: 21and when he was exposed, Pharaoh?s daughter took him home, and brought him up for herself, as a son. 22And Moses was educated in all the wisdom of Egypt, and was mighty in words and actions.

The Rejection and Flight of Moses

23But when he had completed his fortieth year, it came into his heart to visit his brethren the children of Israel. 24And seeing one of them treated injuriously, he defended him, and executed vengeance for him who had suffered the outrage, smiting the Egyptian. 25For he thought that his brethren would understand that God by his hand would give them deliverance: but they understood not. 26And the following day he shewed himself to them as they were fighting, and urged them to peace, saying, My friends, ye are brethren; wherefore do ye ill treat one another? 27Then he who did his neighbour wrong thrust him from him, saying, Who appointed thee a ruler and a judge over us? 28Wilt thou kill me, as thou killedst the Egyptian yesterday? 29Then fled Moses at this saying, and was a sojourner in the land of Midian, where he begat two sons.

The Call of Moses

30And when forty years were completed, there appeared to him in the desert of mount Sinai the angel of the Lord, in a flame of fire in a bush. 31But when Moses saw it, he marvelled at the sight: and as he was drawing nearer to observe it, a voice from the Lord came to him, 32?I am the God of thy fathers, the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.? Then Moses trembling, dared not to look farther. 33Then the Lord said unto him, ?Loose the sandal from thy feet: for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. 34Attentive I have beheld the evil treatment of my people in Egypt, and I have heard their groaning, and I am come down to deliver them. And now come hither, I will send thee into Egypt.?

35This very Moses whom they had rejected, saying, Who made thee a ruler and a judge? the same did God send to be a ruler and redeemer by the hand of the angel who appeared to him in the bush. 36He brought them forth, after performing miracles and signs in the land of Egypt, and in the Red sea, and in the wilderness forty years. 37This is the Moses who said unto the children of Israel, ?A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up for you from among your brethren, as myself; him shall ye hear.? 38This is he, who was with the church in the wilderness with the angel who spake to him in the mount Sinai, and with our fathers: who received the oracles of life to give unto us:

The Rebellion of Israel

39to whom our fathers would not be obedient, but thrust him from them, and turned back in their hearts unto Egypt, 40saying to Aaron, Make us gods who shall go before us: for this Moses, who brought us out of the land of Egypt, we know not what hath happened to him. 41And they made a calf in those days, and brought a sacrifice for the idol, and rejoiced in the works of their own hands. 42Then God turned, and gave them up to worship the host of heaven; as it is written in the book of the prophets, Have ye offered me slain beasts and sacrifices forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel? 43Yet have ye taken up the tabernacle of Moloc, and the star of your god Remphan, those figures which ye made to pay adoration to them: and I will transport you beyond Babylon.

The Tabernacle of the Testimony
(Hebrews 9:1–10)

44The tabernacle of the testimony was with our fathers in the wilderness, as he that spake to Moses commanded, that he should make it according to the model which he had seen. 45Which also our fathers having received, brought in with Joshua into the place possessed by the Gentiles, whom God drove out from before the presence of our fathers, unto the days of David; 46who found favour before God, and sought to procure an habitation for the God of Jacob. 47But Solomon built an house for him. 48Though the Most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands; as the prophet saith,

49?Heaven is my throne, and earth the footstool for my feet: what kind of house will ye build me? saith the Lord: or what place is there for my repose?

50hath not my hand made all these things??

51Ye stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and in ears, ye do always oppose yourselves against the Holy Ghost: as your fathers, so are ye. 52Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they killed those who before published the tidings of the coming of that Righteous Person; of whom ye have now been the betrayers and murderers: 53who have received the law through arrangements of angels, yet have not observed it.

The Stoning of Stephen

54Now when they heard these things, they were cut through their hearts as with a saw, and gnashed upon him with their teeth. 55But he being full of the Holy Ghost, and looking up stedfastly to heaven, saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God; 56and he said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing at the right hand of God. 57Then they screamed out with a great cry, and stopped their ears, and rushed all together upon him, 58and dragging him out of the city, stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man, named Saul. 59And they stoned Stephen, in the act of prayer, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit! 60Then falling on his knees, he cried with a loud voice, Lord, impute not to them this sin! And thus speaking, fell asleep.